Sports

Seahawks fans are trying to break a Guinness World Record for noise

They may not have a Super Bowl title, but at the very least, a world record is in reach.

Seattle Seahawks fans hope to compete for the title of "loudest crowd roar at a sports stadium" when the team takes on the San Francisco 49ers Sept. 15th. An independent group of Hawks fans called Volume 12 is spearheading the campaign to get into the Guinness Book of World Records.

"(The idea) happened at about 3 in the morning, like when most great ideas happen - when you're a little delirious," joked former Seahawk defensive end Joe Tafoya, about the inspiration for the record-breaking attempt. "We hope to blow (the record) out of the water so that the Seahawk fans can own this for a long time."

"Records are meant to be broken and I think the Seahawks fans will definitely give it a run for their money," added his former teammate and current business partner, Kerry Carter. "(The noise at CenturyLink Field) can be pretty deafening. I feel bad for some of the opposing teams."

The current world record is held by the Ali Sami Yen Sports Complex Turk Telekom Arena in Istanbul, Turkey, which set the record back in 2011 with a volume of 131.76 decibels at a soccer match.

Tafoya, who played with the Hawks in the 2006 Super Bowl, says the matchup against the 49ers seemed like a natural choice for the world record attempt, given the teams' new-found rivalry, and the fact that the game is the Hawks regular season home opener (and not just because the 49ers are his hometown team who passed on drafting him years ago.)

"This is for the fans. This is a challenge to the fans to showcase who we are in the Pacific Northwest," he said. "We hope to blow it out of the water so that the Seahawk fans can own this for a long time."

Media representatives for the Seahawks and the 49ers declined to comment. Tafoya stressed that the Seahawks haven't officially signed off on the attempt, although the application to Guinness is complete.

At the very least, fans now have a couple of months to prepare -- and to buy earplugs, he said.

"We might be in the parking lot handing those out," he said laughing.

"We're taking earplug sponsor applications in case anybody wants to get in on that action," joked Carter.